Readiness is personal
The question “is it too soon?” assumes there is an answer. There is not.
Some people feel ready to date within months of their partner's death. Some people wait years. Some never date again and that is a completely valid choice. None of these timelines reflects the depth of love for the person who died. They reflect individual circumstances, individual needs, and individual pacing.
If you feel ready, that is enough information.
What you will probably face
You may face judgment from people who think it is too soon, or too late, or simply wrong. Friends who were supportive through the loss may become uncomfortable when you start living again. Some will say something. Some will simply disappear.
Their discomfort is theirs to manage. You know your relationship and your grief and your readiness. They do not.
Loving again alongside loving someone who has died
Dating again does not mean you have stopped loving the person who died. Both can exist. A new relationship does not replace what came before it. It lives alongside it.
Many people who have lost a partner and found new love describe carrying both. The person they lost remains real and present. The new relationship is also real and present. This is not contradictory. It is how love actually works.
Any age. Any stage.
People reconnect and form new partnerships at every age and in every circumstance. The belief that it gets harder, or that after a certain point it is not possible, is usually fear speaking rather than experience.
It is uncomfortable to put yourself out there again. It is vulnerable and sometimes awkward. It is worth it.
The most important reframe
Here is something worth holding onto when the guilt comes up, or when you wonder if you have the right to be happy again.
Living fully, loving again, building a new life: this is what your partner would have wanted to do for themselves. They did not have a choice. You do.
That is not a reason to rush. But it is a reason not to hold back out of guilt once you know you are ready.